mmanuel Servais, L-2535 Luxembourg City
mailing address: American Embassy Luxembourg, Unit 1410, APO AE
09126-1410 (official mail); American Embassy Luxembourg, PSC 9, Box
9500, APO AE 09123 (personal mail)
telephone: [352] 46 01 23
FAX: [352] 46 14 01

Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and light blue;
similar to the flag of the Netherlands, which uses a darker blue and
is shorter; design was based on the flag of France

Economy Luxembourg

Economy - overview:
This stable, high-income economy - benefitting from its proximity
to France, Belgium, and Germany - features solid growth, low
inflation, and low unemployment. The industrial sector, initially
dominated by steel, has become increasingly diversified to include
chemicals, rubber, and other products. Growth in the financial
sector, which now accounts for about 28% of GDP, has more than
compensated for the decline in steel. Most banks are foreign-owned
and have extensive foreign dealings. Agriculture is based on small
family-owned farms. The economy depends on foreign and cross-border
workers for about 60% of its labor force. Although Luxembourg, like
all EU members, has suffered from the global economic slump, the
country enjoys an extraordinarily high standard of living - GDP per
capita ranks first in the world.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$32.6 billion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$34.37 billion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
5.7% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$68,800 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 1%
industry: 13%
services: 86% (2005 est.)

Labor force:
203,000 of whom 121,600 are foreign cross-border workers commuting
primarily from France, Belgium, and Germany (2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 1%
industry: 13%
services: 86% (2004 est.)

Unemployment rate:
4.1% (2006 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.6% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
18.3% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $19.07 billion
expenditures: $19.79 billion; including capital expenditures of
$975.5 million (2006 est.)

Agriculture - products:
wine, grapes, barley, oats, potatoes, wheat, fruits; dairy
products, livestock produc